Pedestal for electric scissors

ABSTRACT

A pedestal for supporting an electric scissors having a housing and a ledger blade mounted at the front of the housing. The pedestal comprises a plastic plate having formed therein a longitudinal slot extending from the upper surface to the lower surface thereof. An integral bridging member longitudinally spans the slot at the upper surface of the plate. A blade-receiving slot is formed in the bridging member for detachably connecting the ledger blade to the pedestal. The blade receiving slot includes an abutment surface against which the ledger blade coacts to prevent the blade from inadvertently withdrawing from the slot. A longitudinal recess may extend along the lower surface of the plate from the termination of the slot to control the amount of springyness of the pedestal. The pedestal is such that it not only supports the scissors on a cutting surface but dampens the vibrations and thus the noise level transmitted from the scissors to the cutting surface.

United States Patent Cowdrey et al.

[54] PEDESTAL FOR ELECTRIC SCISSORS [72] inventors: Roy M. Cowdrey; Wayne A. Current, both of Cranford, NJ.

[73] Assignee: The Singer Company, New York,

[22] Filed: April5, 1971 [2l] Appl.No.: 131,315

[52] US. Cl ..30/228, 30/231 [51] Int. Cl. ..B26b 15/00 [58] Field of Search.........30/228, 231, 247, 272, 273

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,316,486 4/1943 Park ......30/231 2,324,364 7/1943 Collins ..30/231 Primary Examiner-Theron E. Condon Attorney-Marshall J. Breen and Alan Ruderman 51 Oct. 17, 1972 [5 7] ABSTRACT A pedestal for supporting an electric scissors having a housing and a ledger blade mounted at the front of the housing. The pedestal comprises a plastic plate having formed therein a longitudinal slot extending from the upper surface to the lower surface thereof. An integral bridging member longitudinally spans the slot at the upper surface of the plate. A blade-receiving slot is formed in the bridging member for detachably connecting the ledger blade to the pedestal. The blade receiving slot includes an abutment surface against which the ledger blade coacts to prevent the blade from inadvertently withdrawing from the slot. A longitudinal recess may extend along the lower surface of the plate from the termination of the slot to control the amount of springyness of the pedestal. The pedestal is such that it not only supports the scissors on a cutting surface but dampens the vibrations and thus the noise level transmitted from the scissors to the cutting surface.

6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures Me KIS.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to electric scissors and more particularly to a vibration and noise surpressing support pedestal therefor.

Electric scissors generally comprise a vibratory cutting blade operating in conjunction with a fixed ledger blade and are extensively used for cutting out patterns on a cutting surface such as a table. The ledger blade thus rests directly on the cutting surface and the rapid vibrations which the cutting blade transmits to the ledger blade creates a chatter against the rigid table, resulting in a very disturbing noise level. The prior art has attempted to promote quiet operation by securing a metallic leaf spring to the ledger blade in order to absorb the vibrations incidental to the cutting opera tion. However, these leaf springs tend to deter the ledger blade in passing underthe material to be cut, and in some cases tend to mar the cutting surface. Electric scissors have, furthermore, been sold in the past with a supporting base upon which the scissors are placed to protect the cutting surface andto aid the ledger blade in passing under the material to be cut. Most of these supporting bases tend to preventa leaf spring from being secured to the ledger blade, and therefore, the inherent vibration and noise problem was not considered. One noticeable exception is illustrated in U. S. Pat. No. 2,316,486 which discloses a supporting base having a slot, a hold down member and a latch for receiving and securing the leaf spring of an electric scissors ledger blade. However, this device,

represents a complicated and expensive approach to the solution of the problem due to the many parts and elements required.

SUMMARY The present invention provides a combination vibration dampening shoe and supporting base or pedestal for use with an electric scissors. In the preferred embodiment the unit comprises a plastic plate having a longitudinal slot extending from the top surface through the bottom surface, and an integral bridging member spanning the slot on the upper surface. The bridging member includes a ledger blade receivingslot arranged for detachably securing the scissors ledger blade therein. The unit not only supports the scissors for operation on a cutting table, but also absorbs the vibrations that would normally be transmitted to the table, and thereby reduces the noise incidental to the operation of the scissors. v

It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide a supporting base or pedestal for use with an electric scissors which dampens the vibrations transmitted to a cutting surface.

Another object of this invention is to provide a pedestal for supporting on a cutting surface an electric scissors having a lower ledger blade and for reducing the vibration and noise level transmitted to the cutting surface.

A further object of this invention is to provide a base or pedestal in which the ledger blade of an electric sciss'ors may be detachably connected to provide support for the scissors and aid the ledger blade in passing A still further object of this invention is to provide a pedestal for supporting an electric scissors which comprises a plate of vibration dampening material having a slot extending from the upper to the lower face thereof and an integral flexible bridging member spanning the BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The particular features and advantages of the invention as well as other objects will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

under material to be out while reducing the noise level transmitted to the cutting surface.

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a pedestal embodying the novel features of the present invention, and which is adapted for supporting an electric scissors therein;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken substantially along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken substantially along line 3-3 of FIG. 1, and showing a portion of an electric scissors mounted on the pedestal; and

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken substantially along line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the accompanying drawings a base or pedestal, which is preferably made of plastic, is generally designated at 10. The shape illustrated is merely a function of the aesthetic appearance of the base and the electric scissors used in conjunction therewith, and should not be considered a limitation on the scope of the invention. The pedestal 10 is of a substantially thin plate form and includes a substantially longitudinal slot 12 extending from the top surface 14 through the bottom surface 16. It is understood that the bottom surface 16 is substantially flat so that the pedestal may be set on a substantially flat cutting surface. Proceeding longitudinally from the slot 12 along the bottom surface 16 is a substantially central recess 18 the purpose of which will be understood as the description proceeds. Spanning the slot 12 along the upper surface 14 is a narrow bridging member 20 which is preferably integral with and rises upwardly from the upper surface 14. The bridging member 20 is given added strength by thickening it to extend below the surface 14 as shown at 22. Preferably, the bottom surface of the portion 22 corresponds with the upper surface of the recess 18. Formed in the upper surface of the bridging member 20 is a vertical slot 24 which is adapted to receive therein a ledger blade 26 that is mounted at the front of the housing 28 of an electric scissors 30 as shown in FIG. 3.

The ledger blade 26 of the scissors 30 is detachably secured within the slot 24 by including a downwardly tapered surface 32 at the leading edge of the slot, thereby forming an abutment against which the leading edge of the ledger blade acts when pressed into the slot. Thus, since the center of gravity of the scissors is behind the ledger blade, the ledgerblade when inserted within the slot 24 is forced upwardly against the surface 32 and is thereby secured in place. To remove the ledger blade from the slot the scissors are merely lifted and slid backwardly.

The bridging member 20 is resiliently mounted by the spanning arrangement, and it is given further resilience by the fact that it is plastic. Thus, when the scissors are operated while in the pedestal, the vibrations tend to be absorbed and a sound dampening occurs. Furthermore, since the bridging member is in tegral with the pedestal plate, a further dampening is provided by the plastic plate. This reduces the vibrations and sound transmitted to the cutting table upon which the pedestal sets. The amount of dampening can be controlled by means of the recess 18, since its length and depth effects the resiliency or springyness of the bridging member and plate.

It should thus be understood that a vibration dampening pedestal for use with an electric scissors is attained by this invention which can be inexpensively manufactured by a molding process and which attains all the above enumerated objectives. Numerous alterations of the structure herein disclosed will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understood that the present disclosure relates to a preferred embodiment of our invention which is for purposes of illustration only and not to be construed as a limitation of the invention. All such modifications which do not depart from the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what we claim herein is:

1. A pedestal for supporting an electric scissors having a lower ledger blade, said pedestal comprising a plate of resilient material having a substantially flat bottom face and an upper exposed face, means defining a longitudinal slot in said plate extending from the upper face to the lower face thereof, a resilient bridging member integral with said plate longitudinally spanning said slot on the upper face of said plate, and means on said bridging member for detachably connecting the ledger blade to the bridging member.

2. A pedestal as defined in claim 1 wherein the lower surface of the plate abutting the slot includes a longitudinal recess.

3. A pedestal as defined in claim 1 wherein said bridging member extends above the upper face of said plate, said means for detachably connecting the ledger blade to the bridging member includes a vertical slot formed in the bridging member for receiving said ledger blade, said slot being downwardly tapered at its leading edge to form an abutment against which the leading edge of the blade coacts.

4. A pedestal as defined in claim 3 wherein said plate and bridging member comprises plastic.

5. In combination with an electric scissorshaving a housing and a ledger blade mounted at the front of the housing, a shoe detachably connected to said ledger blade for supporting said scissors on a cutting surface, said shoe comprising a plate, said plate having a longitudinal slot formed therein, at least a portion of said slot extending from the top surface of said plate through the bottom surface of said plate, a bridging member longitudinally spanning said slot at the location of said portion, said bridging member having a slot for receiving the bottom of said ledger blade, and means for detachably securing said blade in said bridging member slot.

6. The combination recited in claim 5 wherein said plate and said bridging member are integral and are plastic. 

1. A pedestal for supporting an electric scissors having a lower ledger blade, said pedestal comprising a plate of resilient material having a substantially flat bottom face and an upper exposed face, means defining a longitudinal slot in said plate extending from the upper face to the lower face thereof, a resilient bridging member integral with said plate longitudinally spanning said slot on the upper face of said plate, and means on said bridging member for detachably connecting the ledger blade to the bridging member.
 2. A pedestal as defined in claim 1 wherein the lower surface of the plate abutting the slot includes a longitudinal recess.
 3. A pedestal as defined in claim 1 wherein said bridging member extends above the upper face of said plate, said means for detachably connecting the ledger blade to the bridging member includes a vertical slot formed in the bridging member for receiving said ledger blade, said slot being downwardly tapered at its leading edge to form an abutment against which the leading edge of the blade coacts.
 4. A pedestal as defined in claim 3 wherein said plate and bridging member comprises plastic.
 5. In combination with an electric scissors having a housing and a ledger blade mounted at the front of the housing, a shoe detachably connected to said ledger blade for supporting said scissors on a cutting surface, said shoe comprising a plate, said plate having a longitudinal slot formed therein, at least a portion of said slot extending from the top surface of said plate through the bottom surface of said plate, a bridging member longitudinally spanning said slot at the location of said portion, said bridging member having a slot for receiving the bottom of said ledger blade, and means for detachably securing said blade in said bridging member slot.
 6. The combination recited in claim 5 wherein said plate and said bridging member are integral and are plastic. 